It was however in line with private sector forecasts and the ruling Communist Party’s official target of about 7 percent for the year.

Growth in China has fallen steadily over the past five years as the ruling Communist Party tries to steer away from a worn-out model based on investment and trade toward self-sustaining growth driven by domestic consumption and services.

But the unexpectedly sharp decline over the past two years prompted fears of a politically dangerous spike in job losses.